


Tantalus and the Haunted Heart

by nonky



Category: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22321678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonky/pseuds/nonky
Summary: Owen walked past her, holding a blue bottle hanging from rough twine. "Do you really think your house is haunted? No judgment."Nancy pushed off the old embarrassment and almost felt the chill from somewhere slightly out of her perception. The house wasn't haunted. Lucy didn't haunt randomly, but she'd learned to observe Nancy's efforts to get information and push her to things she needed to find. She was haunted, and Lucy's pursuit of Ryan Hudson meant she wasn't bound to a physical place.Spoilers up to Episode 10.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Owen Marvin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: Nancy Drew TV Series (2019)





	Tantalus and the Haunted Heart

Nancy was wandering back to the living room, unsure if she wanted to sleep yet, when the doorbell rang, three sharp knocks followed and someone rattled the knob impatiently. She jumped a little, and felt for her phone in her pocket before she answered the door carefully. 

Owen huffed out a sigh of relief or a scoff. He nudged inside without saying anything, his hands out to his sides with a small white paper bag flicking around. 

"You got poisoned. I've never known anyone who set out to taunt a killer and managed to get poisoned!"

He put the bag down, and took her by the arms to look at her closely. Nancy didn't know what he was seeing. She felt like she didn't look good, and her voice came out embarrassed when she answered. 

"I'm goal-oriented and a self-starter," she said, cringing. "And I'm okay."

The sigh was definitely a scoff this time, and it was followed by his hands rubbing up and down her arms like he was checking for breaks. "Goal-oriented - I am glad you're okay. You can look after me, because I heard your heart stopped for a minute."

She didn't want to talk about that, or finding Lucy in the hazy underworld only to rip back into her body to feel it quaking with shock. Nancy was grateful for her friends, but coming back to life in Nick's arms and sobbing on him for a long time was emotionally confusing. She didn't know if it was giving her a real yearning for a second chance or if she just wanted to not be alone. It wouldn't be fair to Nick guess at the answer, so she'd let him leave. 

"There was antidote," Nancy mumbled. "And we caught a killer."

"If I took you fishing, you'd want to be the bait," Owen said gruffly. He touched her hair and and her cheek, shaking his head. "I wasn't going to come over. I thought you might keep someone here with you for company. I thought you and Nick might . . . Anyway, I had to see for myself you didn't need to be in the hospital or something. It seems kind of surreal they just take your vitals and send you home."

"I argued with the paramedics for a while. And George backed me up. She could yell better because her throat didn't hurt."

He hugged her, his grip a little harsh. Nancy put her hands flat on his back and enjoyed his cologne until he stepped back with a nuzzle to the top of her head. Owen looked at his shoes and met her eyes. 

"I'm working really hard not to be overbearing. It hasn't escaped my notice you have never taken me up on my invitation to dinner. I don't want to be that pushy guy who thinks he's being nice. I'm just having a lot of trouble with knowing you're alone here, in a haunted house, actively seeking the attention of murderers. And I know you'll say you're being careful, but there is no non-risky version of that. I want you to know you can talk to me. Ask all the favours you want. Tell me all about your breakup with Nick, if you like. I know you must have things on your mind, and I can't help if you dodge me."

Nancy hadn't wanted any kindness directed at her, and Owen was too nice. He was too accepting of nothing in return for her absurdly transparent prying. He didn't seem to have anything to hide for his own sake, though he had a good sense of his obligation to his family and the business. 

"I don't mean to do that to you," she said. "I realized how many times I've asked for your help but not been willing to offer my own help. I want you to get justice for your uncle. If the Hudsons sank the Bonny Scot, they deserve to be exposed. I'm just - I have tunnel vision right now. My father is sitting in jail. He won't help himself. I would do favours, ask favours, sell the house and everything in it. I don't know what to do."

Owen put his hands in his pockets and made a face. "And I'm in your face whining about how you won't date me," he said. "I'm that guy."

"You're not pushy! You're incredibly patient," she told him. "And I am very aware of my problems letting people in. You deserve to date someone who's actually present at dinner instead of acting it out."

He shrugged. "You don't owe me answers."

"You don't owe me favours. I'm trying to at least be a better friend," Nancy said firmly. "Ask me something, so I can tell you one thing. I don't know if you'll like it, but I'll tell you the truth."

Owen walked past her, holding a blue bottle hanging from rough twine. "Do you really think your house is haunted? No judgment."

Nancy pushed off the old embarrassment and almost felt the chill from somewhere slightly out of her perception. The house wasn't haunted. Lucy didn't haunt randomly, but she'd learned to observe Nancy's efforts to get information and push her to things she needed to find. She was haunted, and Lucy's pursuit of Ryan Hudson meant she wasn't bound to a physical place. 

"Not the house. I think I am. It has nothing to do with where I am."

He absorbed her answer with a small expression of empathy before he was looking at her with his usual interested focus. Nancy was glad to see his calm restored. 

"Well, I don't know what to do for that," Owen said. "I sent flowers after I spoke to you earlier, but then I thought you might want a snack so I stopped for doughnuts. I think I bashed them against the door frame while I was freaking out. I was going to break the door down if you didn't answer it."

She smiled. "I didn't expect you to solve my haunting. George's mom is my consultant for the supernatural."

His small smile grew, and a dimple finally appeared. She was struck by how glad she was to get him in a better mood. 

"And here I've been calling what I do favours," Owen said. "I guess I just have to work to my strengths."

Nancy gestured to the kitchen. "You can have a cocoa with me and we'll eat doughnuts together? I don't care about slightly battered food. I still can't quarter the Claw's sandwiches evenly when I cut them."

He nodded. "Well, I didn't want to say, but my last lobster roll was a failure of geometry. I was secretly hoping Ace had cut it so I could blame his injuries."

"I am a plague of crookedly cut sandwiches set loose on the town," she told him proudly. "Let me make you mediocre instant cocoa in mismatched mugs while I try to remember if we even have marshmallows in the house."

He reached for her and pulled her sweater closed, buttoning it with a satisfied little tug before he let go. "Lead the way."


End file.
